Single trigger firing mechanism for double-barreled guns



F. J. CRORY June 9,v 1953 SINGLE' TRIGGER FIRING MECHNISM FOR DOUBLE-Bmw GUNS Filed Feb. 17. 194e 3 Sheets-Sheet l F. J. CRORY June 9, 1953 SINGLE TRIGGER FIRING MECHANISM FOR DoUBLE-BARRELED GUNS Filed Feb. 17. 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 mfr/f ai am, M

SINGLE TRIGGER FIRING MECHANISM FOR DOUBLE-BARRELED GUNS Filed Feb. 17, 194e F. J. CRORY June 9, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet I5 Patented June 9, 1953 SINGLE TRIGGER FIRING MECHANISM FOR DOUBLE-BARRELED GUNS Frederick J. Crory, Durham, N. H., assignor to Morrone Manufacturing Co., Inc., Westerly, R. I., a corporation of Rhode Island Application February 17, 1948, Serial No. 8,781

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in fire- Aarms, especially of the type of firearm known as ,the double-barreled shotgun. It is an obJect of the invention to provide a gun of this type which can be made economically but which has superior qualities.

A further object of the invention is to provide Asimplified gun-locks, controlled by a single trigger by which both barrels may be fired in succession,

Aand interlocking means to prevent simultaneous l firing of the barrels. In simplifying the gunlocks, fewer parts are used, and the gun as a whole is lighter in weight than ordinary guns of the same size and type. Furthermore, a sleeve of lstandard external shape is mounted on the chamtang of the gun is formed to be moved longitudinally into engagement with the forward end of the stock when the gun is being assembled, thus simplifying the shaping of the recess in the stock in which the frame of the gun action ts. An extractor is provided which is readily removable and replaceable. These and other advantageous features are hereinafter described in more detail and are illustrated on the drawings, of which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a firearm embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same with the ystock separated from the rest of the gun;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the breech portion of the gun barrels, partly broken away to show in section;

i Figure 4 is an end view of the barrel assembly;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 3; Figures 6 and 7 are fragmentary, sectional views similar to Figure 5 butI showing other kinds of barrels; y

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the channel member which extends Vforward from the breech block;

Figure 9 is a left side elevation of the midportion of the firearm, broken away to show parts of the gun-locks before the hammers are cocked;

Figure l0 is similar to Figure 9, but showing the hammers cocked;

' Figure 11 is a fragmentary, side elevation showing the trigger and sears when the trigger has been pulled the first time;

Figure 12 shows the position of the parts in Figure 11 after the trigger is released and is ready for the second pull;

rFigure i3 Visa right side-elevation of the gun action;

2 Figure 14 is similar to Figure 13 but shows the movable parts in other positions;

Figure 15 is a section on the line l5--I5 of Figure 13; and

Figures 16 and 1'7 are fragmentary, side elevations of the mid-portion of the gun, showing the action of the extracting mechanism.

A double-barrel gun of the over and under type is shown in Figure 1. This gun includes a barrel assembly comprising an upper barrel 20 and a lower barrel 22, held together by means of a rib 24 to which the barrels are brazed or otherwise secured. The chambered ends of the barrels 20 and 22 are surrounded by a sleeve 26 which is shrunk on the ends of the barrels by thermal expansion and contraction. For this purpose, the chambered ends of the barrels are made slightly larger than the bores in the sleeve into which they are to be inserted. The sleeve is then expanded by heat, or preferably the barrels are contracted by extreme cold such as may be obtained from solid carbon dioxide or liquid air. The ends of the barrels are then thrust into the bores of the sleeve, whereupon the thermal expansion of the barrels or contraction of the sleeve results in a binding engagement between these members. As herein used, the term shrunk on" is intended to apply both to the process of cooling a pre-heated sleeve and to the equivalent process of Warming a pre-chilled barrel. The sleeve may be bored to receive two barrels of the same gauge, as in Figure 5, or may be bored to receive barrels of other gauges, as in Figure 6. If desired, one or both barrels may be rifled as indicated in Figure 7. By making sleeves of similar external shape, the barrel assembly of the gun can quickly and easily be replaced by a different barrel assembly.

Secured to the barrels by any suitable means (not shown) is a fore-end 30. The sleeve 26 is made with trunnions 32 which engage in suitable recesses 34 within a receiver 36 which projects forward from the breech block 38. A frame 40 extends rearwardly from the breech block to support the gun locks by which the barrels are discharged in succession when the trigger is pulled. The frame 40 with the parts of the gun action contained therein is shaped to be inserted longitudinally into a slot 42 in the forward end of the stock 44 when the gun is being assembled. A

ylongitudinally extending bolt 46 is inserted in the stock from the butt end thereof to engage the rear end of the frame 40 so as to hold the stock tightly to the frame. When the stock is assembled with the rest of the gun, the forward .y extensions 48 enclose the gun action and the extremities 50 thereof are beveled so as to engage in complemental recesses 52 in the sides of the breech block so as to prevent the extensions i8 of the stock from spreading.

The barrel assembly with the fore-end is adapted to rock as a unit about the trunnions 32 as a fulcrum when the top lever 54 is operated in the usual manner to release the breech end of the barrel assembly. The top lever is secured on the upper end of a shaft 56 which extends down through the breech block and engages a locking pin 58 so as to retract the pin when the lever e is swung. The forward end of the pin 58 is tapered and enters a tapered hole Sil in the sleeve 2G. As the pin 58 or the hole dil becomes worn, the pin projects further into the hole so as to take up the slackY and prevent any looseness between the barrel assembly and the breech block. When the pin 58 is retracted to lock the chamber from the breech block, it is held in retracted position Vby a mechanismY including a latch 62 so that the barrels, after they have been swung forward to break or open the gun, can be swung back to their normal. positions without hitting the locking pin 58. When the barrels are swung back to their normal position, the sleeve 2c engages the latch 62 so as to release the pin 58 and permit it to move forward into the hole Gli.

The gun locks are illustrated in Figures 9 to 15. These include a pair of tumblers 64 and 66 '(Figures 9 and 13) mounted on a transverse pin 68 in the frame all and integral with hammers 'I8 and 'i2 respectively. These hammers are adapted to strike against respective firing pins M and '56 which extend slidably through the breech block 38 at different angles of inclination so that their forward ends are adapted to project from the front face of the breech block at points in line with the axes of the barrels. Figure 9 illustrates the position of the hammers ld and 'i2 after the barrels have both been discharged. Two main springs 8|) and 82 are mounted side by side within the frame 49 to bear against the hammers 'I0 and 'I2 respectively so as to tend to rock the hammers and their tumblers forward to the position shown in Figure 9. The springs 8|) and ,82 may conveniently be made of bar stock and are of a modified hair-pin shape with the loop 84 seated in a recess in the rear portion of the frame 4Q. The hammers are both cocked whenever the gun is broken, that is, when the barrel assembly is swung forward after being released by the retraction of the locking pin 58. For this purpose rocker elements 86 are pivotally mounted within the receiver 36 on each side wall thereof, these rocker elements being arcuate in form and engaging cam surfaces 88 on the fore-end 30. When the barrel assembly is rocked forward to the position indicated in Figure 10, the cam surfaces 88 cause the rockers 86 to swing back and to push cocking rods Si! toward the rear. At the rear ends of the cocking rods are cooking heads 92 which bear against the hammers 'Hi and 'i2 in such manner as to press them back to cocked position, as shown in Figure 10. When the hammers reach such position, they are retained therein by sears 94 and 26, each sear having a nose 33 which engages a shoulder I @Il on the corresponding tumbler. 'I'he sears consist of rocking levers which are pivotally mounted on a pin |532 supported in the frame 48 parallel to the pin 63. The sears 94 and 96 have portions extending rearwardly from the pivot |92, the extension of the sear 9E being longer than that of the sear 94. The rear ends of the sears have inturned extensions Il and IIlB respectively (Figure 15), each of these extensions being adapted to be lifted, as hereinafter described, to release the nose of the scar from its shoulder on the corresponding tumbler so as to permit the hammer to strike its ring pin. Each sear is provided with a spring |68 which tends to hold the nose of the sear against its tumbler so that rocking movement of the sear to release the tumbler and hammer is opposed by its sear spring |08.

The mechanism for elevating the rear ends of the sears in succession comprises a trigger body l I0 which is pivotally mounted near its forward end on the pin |62. A trigger II2 projects down from the body IIB so that when the trigger is pulled, the body I it is swung upward about the axis of the pin |02. A pallet IIE is pivotally mounted, as at IIS, on the trigger body IIIl, slot IIa, and projects upward therefrom. This pallet is rockable toY a limited extent about the axis of the pinn IIS and is pressed forward by a spring II8 which is compressed between the top of the trigger body and the rear portion of the pallet H4. When both barrels have been discharged so that the sears `are both rocked forward, the pallet H- is in the position shown in Figure 9, wherein the forward end of the pallet is beneath the extension les of the sear 94 and the rear end of the pallet is beneath the extension ist of the sear 9S. When the hammers are cocked, as shown in Figure 10, the scar springs |68 rock the sears rearwardly so that their rear ends are lowered to the position shown in Figure 10. The extension |08 of the sear 96 then presses the rear end of the pallet I I4 downwardly against the pressure of the pallet spring IIB so that the forward end of the pallet is clear of the extension IM of the sear 94. It is evident from Figure 10 that a pull on the trigger II2 when both hammers are cocked will result in the rocking of the sear 96 only, as indicated in Figure 11. When the trigger is thereupon released, the sear extension |06, being maintained in its elevated position, allows the pallet H4 to rock forward as it descends with the trigger body II to the position shown in Figure 12. The forward end of the pallet II l is beveled, as at i2il, so that it can pass by the rear end of the sear 94 and engage thereunder, as indicated in Figure 12. A subsequent pull on the trigger II2 results in the rocking of the sear 94 land the discharge of the corresponding barrel.

In order to prevent a simultaneous discharge of the two barrels when the trigger is first pulled, an inertia block |22 is pivotally mounted, as at I 24, on the frame 40 and is resiliently pulled rearwardly by a light spring |26. When the rst barrel is discharged, the recoil of the gun results in a relative forward rockingmovement of the block |22 by reason of its inertia so that it momentarily occupies a position immediately above the extension IEM, thus preventing an accidental rocking of the sear 94 by the jarring of the gun which results from its recoil.

In order to prevent accidental discharge of the gun, a safety catch is provided, this catch consisting of a lever |30 which is rockably mounted on a bracket |32 within the frame 4I) so that its lower end can engage above a rearward extension |34 of the trigger body III), thus preventing the upward movement of the trigger body. A safety button |36 is slidably mounted on the frame with an exterior portion manually engageable to operate the safety lever |20 to active or inactive position, as desired.

An extractor is shown in Figures 4, 16 and 17.

Vgrasped for removal.

This consists of a head |40 normally seated in the sleeve 26 flush with the end face thereof and mounted on the end of a shank |42 which is slidably tted in a dove-tail groove in a side face of the sleeve 26. Secured to the shank |42 is a lug |44 which engages a part |46 of the receiver when the barrel assembly is swung forward to open the gun (Figure 17), the result being that the shank |42 and head |40 are moved rearwardly. As the head has arcuate marginal portions engaging under the rims of cartridges in the chambers, the rearward movement of the extractor pushes the cartridge cases partly out of the chambers where they can be manually When the barrel assembly is swung back to close the gun, the extractor head is pushed forward to its seated position by its engagement with the breech block face. The extractor can readily be pulled out when the gun is open for cleaning or replacement.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description of an embodiment of the invention is not by way of limitation, but that the invention may include such modifications and changes as come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a double barrelled gun action, a frame, a single Sear pivot pin'supported therein, two sears pivoted on said pin, a. single trigger also pivotally mounted on the sear pivot` pin, and means mounted on said trigger to rock said sears in succession when said trigger is pulled, said last named means comprising a rockable pallet undercut at its forward end to by-pass one lsear when the trigger is rst pulled and to contact the rear end of said sear when the trigger is again pulled.

2. In a double barreled gun action, a frame, a single sear pivot pin supported therein, two

sears pivoted on said pin, a single trigger also pivotally mounted on the sear pivot pin, a slot in said trigger, and means mounted in said trigger slot to rock said sears in succession when the trigger is pulled, said last named means being mounted for a longitudinal rocking movement on a, pin through its lower extremity.

3. In a double barreled gun action, a frame, a single sear pivot pin supported therein, two sears pivoted on said pin, a single trigger also pivotally mounted on said sear pivot pin, a slot in said trigger, and means mounted on said trigger to rock said sears in succession when the trigger is pulled, said means including an unbroken upper surface flat throughout' its lengthY and Width and being provided with a vertically depending lower portion rockably pinned in said trigger slot.

FREDERICK J. CRORY.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 565,605 Davenport Aug. 11, 1896 568,285 Thorneley Sept. 22, 1896 638,322 Davenport Dec. 5, 1899 '722,706 I-Iewson Mar. 17, 1903 1,109,632 Kautzky Sept. 1, 1914 1,145,502 Moritz et al. July 6, 1915 1,149,326 Beatty Aug. 10, 1915 1,156,222 Giddings Oct. 12, 1915 1,160,581 Curtis Nov. 16, 1915 1,578,638 Browning Mar. 30, 1926 1,818,852 Howland Aug. 11, 1931 1,889,049 Howland Nov. 29, 1932 2,142,000 Miller Dec. 27, 1938 2,336,188 Point Dec. 7, 1943 2,452,825 Young Nov. 2, 1948 2,512,638 Gaidos June 27, 1950 

